The Patrick Henry Half Marathon

August 25th 2007

This is a combined Richmond ROadrunners and Sportsbackers event. It takes the place of Battlefield Half-marathon and the Procrastinator’s Half-Marathon. It is a week earlier than the other races were and yes, indeed, a week hotter. The unfortunate thing is that it is the same weekend as the PanCan Race. I ran and helped out with this race last year in my brother’s memory. It made me feel better and made me feel like I was doing something for my nephews.

Here’s a picture of the Tuesday night group, most of which are running Patrick Henry

This was the winter goal race

The Shamrock Half-Marathon - March 18th

3/4 The last long run today before the race. Oh it sure feels great to have that over with. We came home from NC this morning and it was a terrible drive, it was so windy! I knew I had this run in front of me after getting home. I went to the park, trying not to think of the length of the run. I just started running. After about 3 miles, I made the usual trip to my car for re-fueling, and did what I knew I would sooner or later. I locked my keys in my car. I had to flag someone down and ask to borrow their cell phone. I called Doug to come open my car for me, but he would not get there for an hour and 20 minutes. So, there was no getting around it, I would have to do the run, no backing out. It wasn’t particularly fun, especially since the park was filled with soccer players and parents. The last 2 miles were a real struggle. But it’s over!! Now I can look forward to an easy 2 weeks and then the excitment of the race.
2/25 Sunday run with the Sunday long run group. 13 miles this time, and it was a hummer! Thank heavens for Mike who made me wear a hat before we took off. I didn’t think it was needed, not that cold and not windy, but Mike insisted. Good thing too. By the time we were just 5 miles into the run it started to drizzle. At about mile 8 there was a barely perceptible change in the sound of the rain. What was that? Sleet! How many times did I say “Thank heavens I have this hat on”? By the time we were done, my hat was ice encrusted and icicles were hanging from the bill of the hat. This run seemd a lot harder than the previous weeks’ 14. Maybe it was the pace, maybe it was the course, who knows?

The week before, 2/18, 14 miler. I swallowed my pride and decided to run with the advanced group on their Sunday morning long run. We took my favorite route for the first 10 miles. It was great! I was surprised that I could keep up okay, or at least semi-okay, which was fine with me. I really didn’t struggle the first 10 miles much at all. By the time we got back to the park at the end of the 10, I was pumped to do the next 4. It seemed Bruce and I would be the only ones going on for the last part. The wind was blowing and it had gotten colder over the course of the run. I was counting the miles left by 11.5 The great part was that I never doubted that I could do it, I just kept going. I was pretty cold at the end. When I got home, I soaked in a hot tub and had a huge breakfast. The rest of the day was pretty low key, but I had planned for that, so it was okay.
Oooooh that was a close one! Apparently, it had been reported in the VA Beach newspaper that the Half-marathon had closed, filled with 6,000 runners. I broke out in a cold sweat as all I could think about was “all that training and no race!” Naturally, I had been putting off registering until I had decided my knee was going to be in shape for it. Well that little bit of procrastination almost cost me too many miles of training. I quickly went onto the website and was able to register without a problem. I even got a confirmation email. Whew! That was a close one.

2/9 Friday run. I took today off from work and ran in the afternoon. It was an okay run. I was pressed for time and did not run as long as I should have. I am trying to get the motivation up for the 14 mile run I will do this weekend. It will be a killer for sure. It is a head thing. I put up so many barriers in my brain that the difficulty is overcoming it there and in the body. I am torn between wanting to do these long runs with people and wanting to do them alone. When I’m alone, my pace is my own, there’s no one to feel like I am holding them back. My complaints are also my own so no one has to listen to them. Yet, it is those very complaints that become so magnified when you run alone, the slightest ache becomes a “must-do” trip to the ortopedist. Running with someone makes the miles slip by much easier for sure. Perhaps the happiest medium for me would be to get a jump on the miles, running several alone before a running partner joins in. That might be the ideal indeed.
2/4 Today was a 12 mile long run. I have enjoyed doing my long runs on Sundays with Gwen and Dick. We run at Huguenot Park where the surface is soft, packed dirt trails, 1.75 miles partially wooded, partailly skirting fields. There’s an additional 1 mile add on the front and the back to break up the monotony. I usually start before the others arrive to get a jump on the miles and the day. Today Gwen and Dick did not show, I put in 4 miles before the designated time, and did a .75 mile loop a couple of times waiting, then decided to go on and finish alone. MP3 players are the greatest thing ever invented for running. I just pop it on my waist band, plug in, and the miles just roll out. It got pretty tough around 8 miles. Not on the legs or on the energy, but on my back. I have been running 5.5 on Saturday mornings with BPG and that’s on city streets. I think it’s the consecutive days of high mileage that is taking the toll on my back. I am just going to have to forgo the Saturday runs when I have to get in the next 12 and 14 miler.

Okay, so now I am committed to the half. I am excited about doing it as it was a blast last year. Last year I had serious doubts that I could do it. This year that’s not in my thought waves. Silly though, my time is on my mind. I am a good bit slower than last year and it will be too bad if I can’t at least match my time. It shouldn’t even be a consideration, but, after all, I am human. I am thrilled to be running and still able to do it. For that, I am grateful. That should be my focus, and I’ll remember that.

This was my first half-marathon which I ran last year and had such a great time, I thought I’d do it again! Last year, I was too concerned with being able to finish. This year I just want to run and have fun!

Training for another half-marathon is definitely within my reach, my long run is at nine miles now. It’s not 10 miles that bothers me, or 11, 12 will be okay as long as the weather is cool. It’s the 14 milesr that is a killer for me. When doing my 14 mile long run for the Shamrock last winter, I was pretty beat up physically and psychologically. The 14 mile long run preparing this summer for the Battlefield Half was unspeakably hot but for some reason was not as emotionally debillitating as the winter one. It’s the psychological hurdles that are the hardest ones. If the weather continues like it has, 74 degrees today, I will be struggling through the rest of the training.

ING Inaugural Half-Marathon / Atlanta - March 25th 2007

Now this would be fun! It would be something to reach for and definitely doable. There’s plenty of time to train and I am well on my way. It’s just about 2 weeks late in the season for the weather. Atlanta at the end of March can be warm. I just do not do well with the least bit of warmth and distance runnng. I like it about 35 - 40 degrees. It’s not the distance of the race that is making me shy away from it, but the weater. We’ll see…

2006

This is what training is about.

The Army Ten Miler

The family runners

aka “how to sound tough in one race”!

Over and done! What a great race!!

The day was crystal clear, blue sky, cool for the start of the race, and a light breeze. A perfect day for running 10 miles with 24,000 new friends.

It took 8.5 minutes to get form our place in the starting line-up to the start line. The course went over 2 bridges, down to Foggy Bottom, back under the Kennedy Center, around the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument, up the length of the mall past all the National museums, and around the fountain in front of the Capitol, back down the length of the mall, and across another bridge, and back to a different side of the Pentagon.

We all had good runs. It was not a course for getting your PR because there were too many people. But it was a course to be enjoyed and soak up the atmosphere.

Pre race and the road to it
The next “goal race”, as Coach Woo likes to say, is the Army Ten Miler, October 8, 2006. My running buddies for this race are Doug’s sister,

Carol, and cousin, Suzie

Last year, Carol and I ran the “Tulsa Run” together, a 15k in Tulsa Oklahoma. One thing that was a surprise during last year’s race, was the difference in race culture. It was terrific to see, around the hotel that was race headquarters, people in running shorts and cowboy hats! This was a big event race for the region, yet the starting line was very low key. The national anthem was played with most of the people singing along. When it came time to start, I was surprised at a sound, not recognizing it as the starting gun, and said, “is that it? Are we going?” The morning of the race, I was up early, naturally, and wandered around the hotel chatting with anyone I saw. Runners had come from Kansas and Missouri for this race. So interesting to hear where they had been running and the conditions they run in in that part of the country.

A different experience completely for 2006. You can’t get a much bigger race that the Army Ten Miler. The culture is obvioulsy, military, and the emphasis on patriotism. As is typical for Washington DC, there will be a large and diverse cross section of runners coming from all over, which is very exciting. So neat to be part of a huge event.